engineering

Minto Midtown

Minto Midtown is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Minto Midtown rather than just read about it. In short: The Minto Midtown is a residential complex on Yonge Street in Toronto in the Davisville neighbourhood near Yonge and Eglinton consisting of two towers, Quantum (37 storeys) and Quantum 2 (52 storeys) developed by Minto Developments Inc. The proposed project—which substantially exceeded existing height and zoning limits—was met with substantial neighborhood and city opposition, until Minto appealed to the Ontario Mun…

Key takeaways

Minto Midtown belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Minto Midtown to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Minto Midtown from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Minto Midtown is a residential complex on Yonge Street in Toronto in the Davisville neighbourhood near Yonge and Eglinton consisting of two towers, Quantum (37 storeys) and Quantum 2 (52 storeys) developed by Minto Developments Inc. The proposed project—which substantially exceeded existing height and zoning limits—was met with substantial neighborhood and city opposition, until Minto appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board and worked out a deal with the City of Toronto. Quantum is 37 storeys (413 ft) and was completed in 2007. Quantum 2 is 52 storeys (541 ft) and was completed in 2008. The initial conceptual design was done by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Zeidler Partnership Architects developed the design and completed the project.

History The construction of the towers, the tallest in the neighbourhood, was controversial. In March 2000, the developer bought the land to be developed and submitted an application for the project in December of the same year, which included the plan for the two towers and demolition of a ten-storey building (below left). The project was greatly in excess of the existing height and density limits. However, the chief planner was considering zoning changes to increase development in the area. The local ward councilor, Michael Walker, kicked the developer out of his office when approached with the proposal and remained steadfastly against the project. Walker had the backing of a number of neighborhood groups, especially the North Toronto Tenants Network. Other councilors were amenable to the proposal. After delays and the city's plans to reject the project, Minto appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board. Minto reached an agreement with city council, by reducing the height by several storeys, providing CAD $1.2 Million for social housing, and $200,000 for transit connections. The OMB Decision (No.1263) set a new standard for development. The buildings still sparked a strong response from the North Toronto Tenants Network. The OMB ruled in favour of Minto. The debate over the towers proved central in the 2003 municipal election. Incumbent city councillor Anne Johnston had helped broker the compromise that approved the towers. She was opposed by Karen Stintz, who took a strong stand against the development and intensification. In a result that surprised many, longtime incumbent Johnston lost by 2,321 votes.

LEED certification This development has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, making it the largest multi-residential LEED certified condominium in North America in 2009.

Awards In 2011, Quantum 2 tower was chosen as the Condo of the Year by CCI Toronto.

See also List of tallest buildings in Toronto

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Minto Midtown

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Minto Midtown claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Minto Midtown before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Minto Midtown ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Minto Midtown

In research: Minto Midtown appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Minto Midtown in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Minto Midtown is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Buildings and structures completed in 2007, Postmodern architecture in Canada, Residential skyscrapers in Toronto, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Minto Midtown outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Minto Midtown in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Minto Midtown means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Minto Midtown out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Minto Midtown in simple terms?

Why does Minto Midtown matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Minto Midtown?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Minto Midtown.